Purple Reign
by HikiNEETaku
Summary: Season 8 : Viserion didn't show up at the Wall. Jaime heads for Eastwatch with a riding companion. Cersei reconsiders her plan. Jon and Daenerys arrive at White Harbor. The Night King makes his move.
1. Sunrise on the Dark Age

**Tormund**

Tormund and Beric watched, mesmerized, as one of the white walkers dismounted his horse and walked towards the Wall. After a dozen steps, the creature raised both its arms, palms facing the Wall.

Tormund's hand nervously wrapped around the hilt of his sword. "What is that thing doing ?"

"Battle stations !" The scream sent the Wall out of its shock and into a frenzy. Crows and free folks were arming themselves and taking fighting positions. Barrels of oil were being prepared and archers were nervously placing their arrows.

Down below, arms still extended, the white walker started pacing slowly parallel to the Wall. After 50 steps, it paced back, still facing them. It reached its starting point and without any pause started a second round.

Beric got off the observation point and grabbed the first man of the Night's Watch he came across. "Dash, go to the maester and send ravens. The white walkers are at the Wall, we need every living soul. Go." The Night's Watchman was already turning around to take the stairs when Beric stopped him. "Don't send all the ravens. We will need more before these return."

Tormund had not moved since the walkers appeared, the army of the dead at their back. "Tell me. With your one eye, do you see as many as I do ?"

Beric had rejoined his side and looked to the west. Far away from them, where the Wall met the horizon, he could still see the dead coming out of the trees and positioning themselves in front of the Wall. "This is not all of them. The Haunted Forest is likely filled with 50 times that many." His gaze turned back to the white walker pacing back and forth right below them. "This is not a good time to be alive. Though I am through no fault of my own."

Tormund seemed to have a hard time processing the magnitude of their foes. "All of them free folk. They deserve their rest. Not... This."

"Good thing giving them rest is precisely the plan then."

Fear flashed on Tormund's face before quickly being replaced by determination. "You said 50 times. Is that more than we can hope to have on our side ?"

Beric took a few seconds to think. "Given the wars we went through these past decades, even if all the houses of Westeros united and we really had the unsullied and dothraki with us, we would still pale in comparison. The wars of men may have doomed us just as much as that army of corpses."

Silence fell on the Wall. Everybody was ready to fight but it seemed like the whole world was holding its breath. Other than that lone white walker, nothing in the army of the dead had moved at all since their arrival.

"Why don't they attack ?" Tormund approached the edge of the Wall and looked straight down. "Say Dondarion, where exactly is the gate ?"

Beric came to his side and looked down the Wall too. He then lifted his head back to look at the white walker, and finally back to the Wall. "We sealed the tunnel. They're not coming though there."

"Then what is that thing doing ? You think it's dancing for us ?"

"Whatever they're doing, there's nothing we can do about it. Unless you're offering to climb down there and ask them."

A grunt was the only answer Tormund bothered himself with.

 **Daenerys**

Having isolated themselves from their traveling companions, escorted only by four unsullied, Daenerys and and Missandei observed as Drogon and Rhaegal circled far above the port of White Harbor.

Daenerys pensively watched as the dragons dove towards the bay. "Does Jon seem agitated to you ?"

Missandei took the time to watch in awe as Drogon pulled up a second before Rhaegal did. Drogon soared right back into the sky while Rhaegal lost speed as he came in contact with the water and had to produce great efforts in order to be able to take off again. Finally Missandei turned to queen Daenerys. "'Jon' your grace ?"

The Khaleesi stopped fidgeting and bit her lips. "You're right, I should call him lord Snow. Can you please wipe that smile off your face and answer me ?"

"Sorry your grace. Yes, I do believe the closer we get to his home, the more restless lord Snow becomes. Could it be he's anxious to introduce you to his family ?"

Daenerys couldn't help but break into a smile as well. "Don't be ridiculous."

Missandei smiled to herself one last time before seriously answering the question. "It seems his countrymen wanted their independence and yet he swore allegiance to you. He could be uneasy about how this turn of events will be received."

The queen pondered that possibility for a few seconds. "I don't know. He seemed confident enough the other day."

"I'm sure he was, your grace."

Daenerys glanced at her trusted adviser who she could swear was repressing a sly smile. "Why don't we speak about something else. I don't know if I'm comfortable with this conversation."

"Of course your grace. But if you really want to know what's troubling lord Snow, perhaps it would be best to ask him directly."

 **Tyrion**

"You've seemed troubled for a few days now my lord Tyrion. Is something the matter ?"

A couple of unsullied in tow, Tyrion and Varys were making their way through the streets of White Harbor. "I am troubled. We are on our way to face a threat to the very existence of humanity, I am not allowed to get drunk anymore, and pretty soon I'm gonna sleep in the same city as my sister who has attempted to murder me on several occasions and is now the ruling queen of Westeros. The future has looked brighter."

"It has also looked darker for you my lord, if memory serves. Why it's nothing less than a miracle that you are standing here having this conversation with me after all."

"Did you just call yourself a miracle maker ?"

"I did no such thing. I am sure that a multitude of factors helped you get where you are."

"You being the biggest one. Is this your way of working up to ask something of me lord Varys ?"

"It is not. But now that you've brought it up, I am curious to know what you think of our beloved queen now that you have been her Hand for several months."

"What I think of her ? The same as you I imagine. She's a great ruler who deserves to sit the Iron Throne."

"But that's not all you think, is it ?"

Tyrion stopped walking and looked Varys straight in the eyes. "I thought we had established long ago that we were both smart men who respected each other, lord Varys. So why don't you say what you have to say instead of dancing around the issue ?"

Varys stopped as well and turned around to face him. "Apologies my lord. But as you know our Queen's opinion of me is not one a reasonable man would envy. I wouldn't want my words to be misinterpreted as spreading dissension and treachery."

"Then perhaps they would be best left unspoken."

"And that is precisely my point. Queen Daenerys is a ray of light in an era of darkness. And yet there are times when she frightens me." Varys paused for a moment, seemingly choosing his words carefully but Tyrion knew better. They were words he had undoubtedly been polishing for days. "There is some of her father in her. More than she likes to acknowledge."

It was true. Tyrion had been witness to it several times. "She's nothing like the Mad King."

Varys bowed his head and they started back towards the castle. After almost a minute of silence, Varys looked at the sky where one of the dragons flew by and was quickly out of sight. "Do you think Aeris Targaryen was born as the Mad King ?"

 **Sandor**

"What kind of shit armor is that ?"

Unsullied soldiers were overseeing the loading of supplies onto the ships and a few of them turned to look at Sandor Clegane but all of them ignored his comment on their attire.

"It's not really made to be armor. It's more of a uniform." Ser Davos Seaworth was going through the inventory list and happened to be within earshot of the Hound's snark. "The unsullied have been trained to ignore pain so anything short of a killing blow will be useless. No point in slowing them down with heavy armor."

"Horseshit. I killed all kinds of men and I promise you when steel entered their bowels, not one stayed on their feet. They all shat themselves crying."

Davos took his eyes off the parchment and looked at the Hound. "I'm guessing you've done all this killing in Westeros. The people of Essos are different. Some of them anyway." The onion knight leaned on the ship's railing and gazed at the sea. "I dropped my anchor in Lorath once. There I witnessed a fisherman cut off one of his own toes to use as bait, all the while still talking to me, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Never broke eye contact. Thinking back on it, it was quite disturbing."

"Probably too drunk, or high, or both."

Davos' eyes set on Sandor once more. "Well, if you don't believe me, you'll be able to see it for yourself pretty soon. We are heading towards a war after all."

Sandor was eyeing the crates coming onto the ship. "Won't be much of a war."

"You don't think we stand a chance ?"

The Hound pointed over his shoulder behind him. "I have a better chance at killing one of those dragons."

Davos took a long look at him. For all the weeks they had spent on the same ship, he couldn't remember any time he saw anything other than hostility on that burned face. "You're a mean fucker aren't you ?"

"It's a family trait."

"That's bullcrap, if you don't mind my saying. My son was the most honorable, honest, devout man I've ever known. And yet look where he came from."

"Probably overcompensating. Give him a few years. He'll become as devious as his father who doesn't know when to shut his mouth."

"Seeing as he's dead that would be quite the feat."

For the first time, Sandor's expression seemed to change and Davos could swear that for a second, he saw a hint of compassion. And when it passed, it wasn't replaced by the usual frown he had grown accustomed to see on the man's face, but rather a more neutral, almost normal facial expression.

Sandor looked at Davos for a few seconds then looked away. "I didn't know."

"Would that have made a difference ?" Davos started walking away to inspect the crates that were just brought on board before turning to Sandor once more. "You know, you have the attitude of a man who thinks the world has it out for him and that everyone is plotting against him somehow. But I'm gonna let you in onto a little secret, friend. The world has better things to do. And so does everybody."

And with this parting line, he left Sandor with his eyebrows joined and his jaw clenched.

 **Jon**

Having paid a visit to Lord Manderly at the castle, Jon Snow and his escort of northmen were heading back to the ships in the company of Brienne of Tarth and her squire Podrick.

"Lady Brienne, during your time at Winterfell, did you come across my sister Arya and my brother Bran ?

"I did, your grace. And Brienne is fine. I'm not a lady."

"And I'm not a king anymore, so you probably shouldn't call me 'your grace'."

Brienne silently acknowledged his words and waited for him to ask his next question. But instead of being more inquisitive, she watched as he paced around, a his face tensed by apparent concern.

She decided it would be better to reassure him since he seemed unable to bring himself to press the issue. "Lady Arya is in great shape, my lord. Surprisingly so. We sparred on several occasions and I must say her fighting abilities are not to take lightly. She did get the better of me on several occasions. She did get the better of Podrick here every single time, and he's grown into quite the capable swordsman."

Podrick took this as his cue to weigh in. "Lady Arya is incredibly agile and quick my lord. I don't imagine she had too much trouble looking after herself on her own."

Seeing no relief on Jon's face, Brienne kept going. "Outside of our sparring sessions, she mostly kept to herself. She's a very quiet young woman but she seemed in good spirit now that she was home, my lord."

Jon stopped in his tracks and looked at the sky. "Quiet uh ?"

Podrick shot a quick look at Brienne and she lifted her eyebrows, which he interpreted as her telling him that if he had something to say he was free to say it. "Yes my lord. But not gloomy if that is what worries you my lord."

Jon looked at the squire. "Thank you Podrick. That is good to know."

He was lying. Arya had always been exuberant, loud, and frankly speaking, a pain in the ass. For her to become like this something must have happened. Something terrible. But there was nothing to be done right now. He would be able to see for himself soon enough.

Instead of dwelling on the subject, unwilling to give in to the guilt that was brewing in his chest, Jon chose to focus on the issues at hand, the ones he could do something about.

But his resolve soon wavered and despite fearing the answer, her turned to Brienne again. "What about Bran ?"

She had seen a lot of emotions dance across Jon's face over the past minute so she considered keeping her answer vague. She elected against it however. Knowing the truth might add weight on his mind, but it was better than being taken by surprise by reality."I cannot speak for how he was when you last saw him, but I find the word I would use to describe him is 'solemn'. I did ask lady Sansa about him and she's of the mind that the accident changed him. The very few times I had the chance to speak with him, I did not believe I was conversing with a child. He speaks as a wise old man would, and he sometimes seems very distant, preoccupied by things only he sees."

Jon took the time to let all this information sink in.

"Thank you Brienne of Tarth, Podrick. It seems even more time has passed than I had realized." Lifting his head, he assumed the kingly composure he seemed to had lost for the length of this conversation. "We have a lot of work ahead of us. My people must ready themselves for the coming storm. Every minute delayed could be our undoing. Let us get back to the ships and set sail."

The three of them were almost back to their vessel when Brienne turned to Jon. "It almost slipped my mind my lord, but if you want to know more about your sister, I believe Sandor Clegane spent some time traveling in her company."

Jon looked back at her with surprise. "Did he ? I'll make sure to hear about it from her on the ride to the Wall."

That sentence had a sound of finality to it and they boarded together. Above them, a raven was flying towards the castle.

 **Jaime**

They had been riding for two days now. The sun was still well above the horizon but Jaime knew they would have to stop at the next inn on the road if they wanted to seize their last opportunity for a warm bed before weeks of sleeping on the cold hard ground on the way to the Wall.

However, they were still too close to King's Landing to drop their guard. Cersei may have let him go, but there was no telling if she had learned of what he did, nor what she would do when she found out. Would she have him killed this time ? He wanted to dismiss the idea as simple paranoia born of his years spent at court where anything said could result in an untimely demise, but he couldn't. He didn't know his sister anymore. Maybe he never did.

"We should keep riding tonight." He said that aloud, perhaps hoping to get his companion's opinion on the matter, in vain. But perhaps it was just to convince himself it was the correct thing to do.

He glanced in her direction, trying to get a read on her. She hadn't said a word since they had left the capital. Only her eyes were visible under her silent sister outfit and the fiery light that once danced in them now seemed a distant memory, a shadow on an already dark night.

The sound of horses in the distance led Jaime to focus on the road once again. Eyes forward, he tried to maintain a confident yet unworthy of attention posture.

They arrived at a crossroads at the same time as a company of seven who rode past them to the west, forcing them to come to a halt. They were led by a young woman with olive skin wearing light travel clothes. Jaime noted some armored men coming behind her, then a couple of riders in civilian garment, and finally, bringing the rear, was probably the youngest one of the bunch. A girl of no more than 15 Jaime surmised, a spear latched to her saddle. His decades of fighting were telling Jaime that she might just be the fiercest warrior of them all.

When she rode past, she turned her gaze to them, meeting each of their eyes on her way as if she were scanning them.

Once the riders had passed, Jaime started forward again, as did his companion. He shot a glance at the westbound riders and saw that one at the rear had slowed down and turned around on her horse, intensely looking at them.

Had she recognized him ? Jaime decided to keep going at a steady pace, not giving the girl any reason to pay any more attention to them. A second glance in her direction made his breathing easier. She had rejoined her party and was now disappearing in the distance.

That encounter comforted him in their need to press on and put as much distance between King's Landing and them as possible. He was about to press his horse to a trot when his companion stopped hers.

Eyes wide, she bolted around on her saddle, facing the direction the riders had disappeared in behind some trees. She turned around to look at Jaime, seemingly sizing him up.

"Wha-"

Before he could even finish his first word, she had turned her horse around in an amazing display of equestrianism.

Jaime had no time to react and could only reach out and grab the back of her clothes, leading to them both being unsaddled when she urged her horse forward.

Jaime got to his feet in a hurry, ready to tackle her if need be, but that was unnecessary. She had tried to get up but had quickly abandoned the idea, holding her left shoulder instead.

He watched as she attempted to lift herself off the ground on her left arm before collapsing under her own weight. Turning around, he mounted his horse once again and rode back to the crossroads where her horse had stopped and was now grazing. He grabbed his bridle and brought him back to her. "Get on."

"I can't." She had spat those words like venom which was less surprising to Jaime than the fact that she had spoken at all.

"What were you trying to pull ? You think they were gonna help you ? You think they would never have learned who you are and how much Cersei would give them for you ?"

None of his questions were answered so he kept going, his voice getting louder with every sentence. "They would have taken you straight back to her. But maybe that's what you want. I have half a mind to let you go myself anyway. Why should I care about what happens to you ?" He had almost shouted that last one but managed to contain himself.

She looked straight at him. He could see the tension in the muscles around her eyes. Her fire was back. "Why DO you care ? Do you think I'll absolve you ? You're just as rotten as your sister. I'd rather die than owe my life to you."

He knelt next to her, repressing the urge to roll his eyes. "Let me see that." He grabbed her arm and started raising it. She abruptly stopped him as soon as the movement required her shoulder to come into play, her eyes watered by pain.

After carefully placing the arm back to her side, he took a step back. "Broken collarbone. Damn it."

Placing himself to her other side, he put her good arm around his neck and helped her to her feet. "Do you think your mother would approve ? Because if I recall correctly she was adamant about you staying alive."

"Do not speak of my mother."

"Don't ride off to your death."

They stared at each other for a few seconds before he helped her back on her horse, keeping the bridle in hand to make sure she wouldn't try anything again before he made it back to his own ride.

She waited for him to be back on the saddle, not giving any sign that she would attempt anything of the sort again again. "You didn't answer my question. Why do you care what happens to me ?"

"I saved you. I'm not eager to see you waste that."

A few seconds passed in silence as they stared at each other once again, this time without hostility. Her face seemed to relax and she closed her eyes. "Fine."

They were starting back when he turned to her once more. "Riding with a broken collarbone is not gonna be pleasant."

She didn't say anything but if he had to guess, he would say she had already started clenching her teeth.

 **Theon**

Theon peaked around the corner of a house. Down the street, surrounded by a hundred of his countrymen, he was able to spot his sister in the dim light of the torches they carried.

A collar around her neck was attached to a heavy chain she had to carry herself, making her steps uncertain and her head stick to her chest. It was the only thing that could be considered clothing that he could see. She was stark naked.

One of her captors was amusing himself by sticking a few fingers inside her and forcing her forward. After a few paces of this she violently closed her legs, tightly locking his hand between them, and turned around. There was a snapping sound as his wrist broke followed by a scream when she dropped the chain right on the broken bone before he could pull his hand out.

She didn't get the opportunity to savor this however, as a flurry of hits sent her to the ground in seconds. She laid there, bare naked on the ground, curled up in a desperate attempt to protect herself from the storm of kicks she was now receiving.

The soldiers kept going for a solid minute until one of them crouched down beside her and forced her jaw open. "I promised my wife a necklace from Westeros. I figure the teeth of a westerosi are as good as any jewelry don't you think ?"

The man wasn't wearing the same clothes as the rest of them. He wasn't ironborn.

He put a finger in Yara's mouth and felt around. "Looks like someone's already started his own necklace. You naughty girl."

He reached in his pocket and grabbed a pair of pliers. "Let's make it entertaining. If you don't scream, I only take one. Does that sound good ?"

Before she had a chance to say anything he was already at work, pulling on one of her molars.

Every muscle in Theon's body was screaming at him to rush to her aid and yet he remained still, in the shadows, clenching his teeth. He did nothing but watch as she dug her fingernails deep in her right thigh and started bleeding.

Her eyes rolled back behind her eyelids and for thirty agonizingly never-ending seconds, tears rolled down her face onto the ground. But she didn't make a sound.

Finally, the tooth was out and her torturer nodded approvingly. "Good job."

He placed the tooth in one of his pockets and helped her to a sitting position. "Isn't it a shame that I'm not a man of my word ?"

And he went back for a second tooth before she had time to register what he had said.

This time Yara didn't bother trying to hold it in. She screamed. She screamed and she fought, forcing a dozen men to hold her down. And she kept screaming. She didn't stop screaming when her vocal cords started to give and her scream changed tone. She didn't stop screaming when he finally got the tooth out.

She didn't stop screaming when he went back for a third one.

She didn't stop screaming until she passed out. Only then did he stop, not interested in tormenting a broken doll.

He instead grabbed her chain and started walking, pulling her behind him, sliding on the ground. It was mercy, if there was any to have, that the ground was polished stone with some dust covering it and not a rock filled dirt road.

Theon turned away from the unbearable spectacle and realized he was shaking. He turned to the dozen men that were with him, tears in his eyes. "We get our Queen back tonight."


	2. A Dragon in Winterfell

**Sansa**

Waiting by the inside door of the Great Hall of Winterfell, Sansa was readjusting her gloves. It had been less than a month since Petyr Baelish had died in that room on her orders. Since that day, every time she had to step foot inside that place, her eyes were inevitably drawn to the spot were he has fallen, one hand gripping his slit throat, the other reaching out to her.

The blood had been scrubbed away long ago, yet she could swear the stones seemed darker where the it had gushed out of him. She found that annoyingly distracted her quite often and she had to will herself back to the matters she was attending.

And today she could absolutely not get distracted. Baelish was dead. There was no use dwelling on it. She was not going to let him still hold power over her even in death. Lifting her chin, she assumed the elegant and authoritative posture she had been trying to perfect in order to fit her leadership position, and with a determined look, opened the door and stepped into the Great Hall with purpose.

She heard all the occupants rise to their feet upon her arrival but, as she had resolved, did not look in their direction, instead keeping her eyes focused on her chair, waiting for her at the dominant position, the middle of the table.

She walked by Winterfell's maester who was occupying the first seat, then by Bran who did not make a single move indicating he had even noticed her arrival. He was looking straight ahead of him, unblinking as far as Sansa could tell.

She finally reached her own seat to the right of Arya's. Her sister's clothes were wet from the snow and Sansa could easily deduce she had been spending her morning on the ramparts waiting for the first sight of their guests' arrival. Despite how much she had changed, some of the Arya she remembered had remained. That thought appeased her for a reason she would have been hard pressed to put into words. Today however, she hoped Arya would show the same seriousness and focus on the issues at hand that she had exhibited ever since she returned to Winterfell. Now was not the time for any kind of effusion.

Sansa finally turned to face her audience and immediately locked eyes with the only person in the whole Hall who mattered in this very moment. The violet eyes were calm and the pale skin surrounding them showed no hint of fear, anxiety, or uncertainty. Long, pale silver-gold hair enhancing her features completed the look for which Sansa could find no other qualifier than regal.

The thought of how intimidated by this woman she would have been only a few months ago flashed in her mind but she quickly dismissed it. She had lived through what seemed like several lifetimes since then. She was the Queen regent of the North. And this foreigner was just one more invader.

She did not break eye contact while taking her seat. She was not trying to provoke she who called herself the Mother of Dragons, but she had no intention of showing any weakness either. So she kept her gaze focused on her when the lords of the North who had all assembled at her call took their seat after having respectfully waited for her to do so first.

She did not glance at Jon who was standing by the woman's side. She knew what he had done and was expecting him to explain himself and be very convincing. But for now her concern was the woman who had brought two dragons to her homeland and was coming inside her very house as a conqueror.

"Lady Targaryen. I welcome you into our home. I hope your travels were trouble free, although I fail to imagine the kind of trouble that could possibly stand in the way of two dragons."

"Lady Stark." Daenerys bowed her head slightly, much to Sansa's surprise. "I thank you for your hospitality but I had not planned on coming here at all. I am headed to the Wall to fight the army of the dead, and as lord Snow, the warden of the North, informed me, your forces have prepared for that very fight for several months now. It only seemed natural that I come see the extent of the forces you were to bring forth to reinforce my army."

Sansa could tell the woman had tried to get a reaction out of her when she put emphasis on Jon's title of warden of the North but she had kept her composure. It was no surprise to her. Jon had sent word of his pledge of allegiance to the dragon queen.

"You will find our forces quite formidable, lady Targaryen." Sansa repeated this title again without changing inflection, making it seem like it was her interlocutor's official title. "We rejoice in your decision to assist us in our fight against the white walkers and their army."

For a fleeting second, Sansa saw Daenerys' composure break and the shadow of a very dangerous expression started to replace it. Jon must have seen it as well and he stepped forward. "Sansa enough. What are you trying to accomplish insulting guests in your Hall ? And why this hostile setting for a reception ?"

"My lady, I apologize if I've given offense. But as the former king in the North here", she stared intensely at Jon while hammering these words, "undoubtedly told you, our recent dealing with outsiders had made us weary, especially in such dark times. Why it was in the very spot you are standing that the last southern lord who attempted to take control of the North breathed his last."

"Enough of this double talk Sansa." Arya had not raised her voice but all could hear her clearly through the entire Hall. "This political nonsense is why we ended up where we are so stop playing around."

Sansa repressed the urge to snap at her sister and closed her eyes. "Alright. I guess you have a point." She focused her attention on the regal presence in the room once more. "Queen Daenerys. My brother saw fit to swear fealty to you. He is the lord of Winterfell and his wishes will be respected. But for the sake of the North, I must ask you what your plans for us are once you come into your throne."

"If you are worried about me meddling in your affairs, I can put those fears to rest right now. I will expect the North to obey the same laws as the rest of the realm and come to fight for its ruler when called upon. That is all."

Sansa studied Daenerys' face. She could not tell if she was genuine or not. She seemed to believe the words she had said, but the best liars always did. Relinquishing the sovereignty of the North once again was not something she liked, but it was not her call to make. Jon would have a lot to answer for when she got her hands on him.

"If that is what you and my brother have agreed, then I can assure you the North will honor those terms. We are a proud people but we have never broken an oath, at least not without good cause your grace."

Sansa was amazed when she noticed Daenerys' breathing got easier upon hearing her sentence. Next to her Jon almost let out a sigh of relief and the let go of the tension in his body.

"All the lords of the North and most of the Vale are gathered here your grace. I invite you to tell us what you expect of us in this war on the eve of which we are." With these final words, Sansa ostensibly made herself comfortable in her chair, giving the floor to her guests.

Daenerys and Jon turned to face the lords of the North.

"My lords, my ladies," Jon slightly nodded in lady Mormont's direction, but she did not return his gesture and kept a serious look on her face, waiting to hear what he had to say. "What lady Stark said is true. I did swear the loyalty of the North to queen Daenerys Targaryen. As you all know, I had no intention of doing such a thing when I left Winterfell. We have been through so much already, and will go through so much more that relying on a southern influence hardly seemed like a defensible decision. And yet I did just that. We are a proud people, it is true, and the lords of the south do not know of our way of life. But I can assure you that there has only ever been one thing on my mind ever since you chose me as king of the North, and that has been to make sure there was still a North to be proud of after the long night had started. And I believe Queen Daenerys is the woman to lead us to victory in this fight we are marching towards."

"Jon took a few steps forward in order to place himself in the center of the hall. "My decision to pledge the North to Queen Daenerys was not an easy one. For months I adamantly, stubbornly refused to submit to her. But as time went on, my lords, my ladies, it became apparent that the only way we are ever going to survive to even discuss such matters as who governs whom is to face the death approaching us together, united, like mankind has never been united before. And the one to push us through that darkness is the woman standing before you here. It is something I believe from the depth of my heart. I wouldn't have sworn myself to her for anything less. This is no time for quarrels between houses or thinking if someone comes from the south or the north. We must make it through the challenges ahead of us free of these considerations. We must go forth without ulterior motive or hidden agenda. We must join together, as a people."

Jon's last words resonated in the Great Hall for a few silence before behind snuffed out by a deafening silence.

"That is all well and good lord Snow," one of the lords stood up to face Jon, "but that doesn't change the fact that this woman knows nothing about Westeros, to say nothing of the North." He now turned to the khaleesi. "How can we put our trust in the daughter of a mad man who spent all of six month in our lands after being raised and living all her life on Essos. What claim does she have over the Iron Throne and our sovereignty that doesn't come from the dragons at her side ?"

"My claim is more legitimate than that of the Boltons whom you were so eager to accept as your ruler, my lord." All the lords assembled in the hall turned as one in the direction of Daenerys who had answered lord Glover's question matter-of-factly. "I am not here to rob you of your lands my lords and ladies. I am simply stating the fact that I will stop the army of the dead, and protect my entire kingdom from their advances. Whether the North decides to be a part of my kingdom or face the dead alone is a decision I leave in your hand. However seeing as your lord has already agreed to join my kingdom, any house that were to secede would not only be a traitor to the crown, but a traitor to the North as well. And come the end of the long night, should the traitors be lucky enough to have somehow survived, they would be housted from their castles and thrown to the wilderness to fend for themselves."

Silence to not fall completely following the end of the Queen's sentence. Chairs were being rattled, disapproving murmurs were growing, and metal gloves were tightening. Daenerys decided to step forward as well to the center of the room and stood next to Jon. "But I am sure that none of this shall come to pass. Everyone in the world knows that the northmen are the most honorable in all of Westeros. I do believe you will also be smart enough to recognize that the threat we face could cause our extinction as a species. I am not here to discuss the state of Westeros once the menace has been crushed, but to make sure that it is crushed and that we live long enough for you to resent my rule. Because if we don't, it will not matter who was slated to sit the iron throne next or whether the North was to be independent. If all that remains are corpses, the bickering of the lords will be the last thing anyone will think about. So as of this moment I am extending you a hand in friendship and offering us a chance to make sure that we all live to have these debates." She shot a sideways glance at Jon who was looking back at her with unmatched intensity. "And who knows. The North may still get its independence."


	3. What would have been

[Author's Note : Ok dear one of you reading this, I thought I could do this, but I can't. I don't have the time nor the desire to keep telling someone else's characters' story. So the next 3 chapters (including this one) are gonna be two summaries intercut with a short chapter that was pretty much the first one to be written for this fanfic. So here's the rest of the story, I hope you find it interesting, or even good, but not sucky. That would blow.

Alright, enjoy !]

Lyanna Mormont is left in charge of Winterfell with orders to defend it (if the Wall falls, Winterfell will be the first refuge for the retreating army) and make sure it's stocked with food, and to make the women and farmers into soldiers. Reluctant at first, Jon will make her understand this is not a dishonorable assignment, but quite the opposite. She's the only one he trusts to be left in charge of his childhood home.

Jon, Sansa, Arya, Bran, Brienne, Podrick, Daenerys, the North, and the Vale ride to Eastwatch.

On the road, Sansa is met by the other northern lords who tell her she has their support and that they doubt Jon. The conversation turns to what's to become of Jon and Dany once the war is over. Sensing that they don't have a grasp on the gravity of the situation, she doesn't rebuff them but doesn't encourage them either. She instead refocuses them. "What is to become of the North is not worth discussing until we have put the danger threatening its very being to rest. I understand your worries my lords but I beg of you not to get ahead of yourselves. There will be time for such topics to be brought up once we have secured a future for ourselves."

Upon arriving at the Wall, they find it much more prepared than Jon feared. Dismounting her horse, Sansa spots the Hound and a smile blooms on her face but she covers it quickly and doesn't understand why it was even there.

He bridges the few meters separating them. "Little bird is finally out of the cage. But still not free."

From this point forward, she will call him "Ser Sandor".

Thanks to the patrols on the Wall, they learn that a group of white walkers is doing something similar to what's happening in Eastwatch in front of Castle Black. [Here are some of the men of the Night's Watch's names I would have used for random rangers, builders, whatever : Kosh, Zuman, You, Rynok, Hikar, Isas, Azuht, Tobi, Soyo, Key, Adash, Ikke, Tetsu, Kik, Toka, Ui. Whoever understands the reference gets to call me Warchief]

At the next meeting of the leaders, Sansa says "We can't just do nothing, they're obviously having their way with us."

Bran tells them about the Wall's magic (that the Walkers cannot approach it). They find this to be a great piece of information and decide to attack them in a hit and run manner, harassing them. The plan is to have archers fire a few volleys at the front line, then a cavalry charge to clean up and bait the second line into chasing as they retreat and the archers cover their retreat to the safety of the Wall. Rinse and repeat.

Thanks to that strategy, they're able to slow the magic annulment (that's what was going on, the Night King and the white walkers were casting a spell to let them approach the Wall) and now the Night King has to place himself further away from the Wall.

At castle black, using the same strategy, the white walkers who were there in much fewer numbers decide retreat and rejoin the rest of their army.

During a discussion with Jon, Tyrion warns him about Daenerys' off-the-handle behaviour. "She is her father's daughter. More than she likes to admit."

Tyrion will learn from Sam and Bran the truth about Jon. He will convince them that Jon and Dany can never know. "You are a man of the Night's watch Tarly. You are the shield that guards the realm. And today that means guarding it from the truth. Telling the truth now will only divide us whilst we are facing our greatest challenge, and our very existence is being threatened. So I ask you to lie and ensure the vital unity of our forces."

After Sam leaves the room, and as Tyrion is about to follow, Bran stops him by saying :

"I loved a maid as bright as spring

With stardust in her hair."

[For the non die hard fans, it's a reference to Tysha, Tyrion's first wife]

A few days pass and Jaime finally arrives to Eastwatch with his companion now dressed as a septa. He gets to sit on the war council and warns that Cersei will not keep her word and the army is not coming. Dany is furious at the idea of saving Westeros from the Walkers just to give it up to Cersei.

Three weeks pass and the Wall bears witness to the arrival of the entire Lannister army led by Cersei and Qyburn making Jaime look foolish.

In the hallways of the castle, Cersei and her guards come across Jaime talking with Brienne and Sansa. "What a sight. Three king slayers. Perhaps we should take care of them before they get any ideas about the Queen, don't you think so ser Gregor ?"

For the next months, there's a lot of war room politics, backstabbing, tension, … (as it did in the early seasons of the show).

During that time, Arya strangely seems to spend a lot of time in Jaime's company.

And Sansa will stand up to Cersei when she comes after Sandor (with words) for his betrayal.

An encounter between Cersei and Jaime ends with him saying "I hate you for loving me."

Back south, the Iron Fleet has ferried the Golden Company across the narrow sea and the start their mission to retake complete control of everything other than the Vale and the North. (here are the Golden Company members that would have appeared : Captain-General Harry Strickland, Black Balaq, Lysono Maar, Franklyn Flowers, Tristan Rivers, and Marq Mandrake)

They end up learning this up at the war council of Eastwatch when Arianne Martell's company arrives with the news. (Ariane's crew : Daemon Sand, Joss Hood, Garibald Shells, Nate "Feathers", Jayne Ladybright, and Elia Sand) [for those paying attention, they're the ones Jaime and friend came across on the King's road back in chapter one]

It becomes obvious to everyone that Cersei is gonna stab them in the back at some point so Sansa devises a plan for Arya to take Cersei's face (nobody else knows about the plan, no one can know about Arya's ability).

Arya has killed Jaime a few weeks prior after having learned his mannerism. She took his face and obviously his place. And now with Jaime's face, Arya tries to kill Cersei but the Mountain stops her. She has to flee and leads him to the Hound and they kill him together [there, you get your Cleganebowl].

After that the tension is at an all time high but weirdly, Cersei doesn't fly off the handles and stays uncharacteristically calm and collected.

One day, a dead (reanimated) raven carrying a message arrives at Eastwatch. It's a request to meet signed by a white walker. For a reason only clear to him, bran gets curious about the raven and discovers that he's able to paralyse it with his mind.

A ship off the coast is the decided meting ground as a rowboat goes ashore on the northern side of the Wall. Once back to the ship, the Westeros delegation (Daenerys, Jon, Samwell, Bran, Qyburn) is surprised to see a female white walker : the Corpse Queen.

She explains what they want : the heads of the red priests who are the most dangerous to their survival and they want the entire island of Westeros. They wanted to cohabit at first, 5000 years ago, but the humans were scared so the white walkers retreated north to escape genocide and the humans pursued them but the surviving white walkers had already gone to sleep beneath the ice. So the humans built and protected the Wall with magic and guarded it. [white walkers' voices are scratchy, like ice cracking]

Corpse Queen : "We don't want to kill you. We have to. You want us dead. If we are to survive, you must die."

She points a finger at Sam. "This one know." [referring to when a walker ignored him in season 2. They also let a night's watchman go at the very beginning of the story]

Bran also tries his newfound ability to paralyse the dead on her but only manages to slow her down a bit. She turns straight towards him with sadness and resignation apparent on her face.

Down in the south, Euron receives a raven (from Cersei) calling him to the Wall. We see chat happened to the Greyjoy siblings : Theon came for her but was captured. She is now used as a way to motivate the men (the 10 who did the best job that day get to rape her) as well as for political gain (still rape + having her and Theon as hostages will give him an edge in potential negotiations with Daenerys's side).

Back to the Wall, Bran gets the idea to have Arya go north. He thinks Death will protect her or something since she serves it and she can sneak into the white walkers' ranks to kill the Night King, take off the head of the army.

She goes and comes across a teenage white walker and is about to kill them [I never made up my mind on whether it was male or female, so you can headcanon it as you wish] when they notice her presence. "Hello" they say. "Killing me wouldn't be very wise. They'd all turn on you (the dead)."

It's the beginning of a friendship. They will surprisingly get quite close. Arya learns that the Night King is not with the army at the moment. She also learns a bit about their society (she sees the baby white walkers created from Craster's offspring).

Her new white walker friend suggested that they simply chase humans off Westeros instead of killing them, after all there's Essos to live in. But it was refused as it was feared the humans would just regroup and try to invade back with more strength from Essos.

Arya's back at Eastwatch and during a sparring session, Brienne wonders where Jaime has gone. Arya tells her she killed him. It leads to Brienne breaking from the fight and tackling Arya. Gripping her shoulders hard she asks why. "Let's see… Threw my brother off a window paralyzing him, murdered most of my family with his, …"

When Brienne finally lets her go, she notices that Arya's dagger was placed in the weak spot of her armor, under the armpit, ready to strike.

Euron arrives at Eastwatch with some kind of justification (they need as many men as they can get or something).

The harassment team of the day [remember ? The tactic to disturb the white walkers) gets overrun and they see with horror that the dead are starting to climb the Wall.

Dead Viserion comes from the horizon and breathes fire on the Wall, melting the top 10 meters of it on an 80 meter wide portion. Then he goes down and starts clearing the (now sealed by the Night's Watch) tunnel by burning it to ash and steam. That's when Drogon attacks. He pounces and forces Viserion away, but the damage is done, the tunnel is 2/3 cleared and now the dead rush in to dig it further.

They stay at a sort of stalemate like this for a few days. Viserion has to be kept at bay day and night so that he doesn't melt the now magic protection-free Wall. So Drogon and Rhaegal take turns battling him, switching every 30 minutes, not allowing them time to sleep.

The war room discussions are now done in panic mode which leads to interesting interactions [which you'll have to imagine yourself because this is a summary :P]

After about a week of battle, during the swap of dragons to fight, Rhaegal fakes it out and charges back in from high up and to the side, catching Viserion and the Night King completely unaware. The Night King manages to escape but Viserion is permanently dealt with. It was a long term strategy devised by Arianne Martell and Tyrion and it paid off.

However it leaves the other two dragons exhausted and out of commission for a while.

The war room breathes a sigh of relief and moods improve. That's the opening Cersei was waiting for as Euron's and her men burst in the war room and attempt to murder everyone on Dany's side. There's an attempt on Sansa's life which is stopped by Sandor. However Cersei slits Tyrion's throat, Varys is overwhelmed by Euron's men, Jorah manages to protect a wounded Dany and escort her to safety.

However, knowing better than to overstay after this slaughter, Cersei and Euron cut and run before the guards collapse in on them, leaving Jon able to clean up the mooks with the help of Sandor and Arya who just rushed in.

Down by the Wall on the human side, the killing spree continues as the now sleeping Drogon gets skewered with the Lannister army's scorpions.

They had no angle on Rhaegal though and Dany rushes to him. The Lannister army had already started evacuating to the iron fleet and half the ships are already for away. Dany goes straight for them though and starts burning ships. But Rhaegal is tired and has to land again after 10 minutes, letting Cersei escape among her army (on horse since the ships close to the shore were destroyed) who's now moving south.

After a couple of hours of rest for Rhaegal, Daenerys wakes him up and presses him on once again, flying off after the army on her own, despite the protest of everyone.

She gets to Last Hearth screaming "WHERE IS CERSEI ?" and starts destroying the city.

After a few hours Rhaegal is exhausted once again and crashes to the ground where he passes out. This gave enough time for Jorah to arrive and get to Dany [I know Last Hearth is too far away for that to be realistic but fuck it]. He sees that she's snapped and doesn't care about the white walkers anymore and just wants revenge. She's so full of hatred that she didn't notice that the Lannister army did not go to Last Hearth and she mowing down civilians.

Seeing him, she orders him to cut everyone down until someone coughs up Cersei's location. And he realises what he has to do.

He unsheathes his sword and runs it through her.

Devastated by what he just did, he falls to his knees. He barely notices Rhaegal jerking awake and rushing him with a deafening roar. Jon arrives on the scene and places himself in front of Jorah, stopping Rhaegal's charge and managing to calm him down (he had been riding him during the week long battle against Viserion).

Upon pulling the sword out of Daenerys, it gets engulfed in purple flames. These flames cannot be extinguished and from now on, any undead coming close to it (3 meters) will catch on fire.

They come back to the Wall where Daenerys's body is burned, as well as Drogon's. And Rhaegal cries. A crying dragon is an unforgettable sound. [the chapter would have been titled "But the King is alive"]

The situation is dire with the dead almost at the top of the Wall, but neither Jon nor anyone else is able to get Rhaegal into the fight as he seems to be mourning. This gives time to the army of the dead to climb the Wall and the white walkers to resume anti-magic-ing another portion of the Wall. [the chapter would have been titled "The Walkers on the Wall"]

Cersei used to chaos to run away south with her army, leaving the northmen to fend for themselves.

She's tracked down to King's Landing by Arya and Tyene [Tyene Sand. She was Jaime's traveling companion at the beginning. He has saved her from Cersei's death sentence because he had a knightly moment, out of anger towards Cersei, but he left her mother to die not forgetting that she had killed Myrcella]. Tyene kills Cersei and Arya wears her face to send the Lannister army back north, along with the golden company and the iron fleet, saying that the Wall falling changes things. [the chapter would have been titled "Die a little better"]

Back up North, Jon covers the armies of the north's retreat by burning the dead who come too close to the rear guard, or the attempts to flank.

Lady Mormont receives word to abandon Winterfell and fo to Torrhen's Square where they can at least escapes by boat if necessary. Lady Mormont refuses. She says that if they hold Winterfell, they can buy them the time they need to set up Torrhen's Square's defenses and regroup.


	4. When Winterfell

"The sun rises on my city. I'm cold, I guess winter is here. I'm a farmer without a farm, I'm laughed at from town to town. What should I do ?

I'm one beggar among many, I now live in Winterfell. I look as bad as I smell, but can you blame me ? My home isn't exactly the Red Keep. Calling it a home is already generous enough.

When I was 14 my father enlisted me in the army. I ran away two weeks later. They say I'm a worthless son. Damn them.

One night in a back alley, I separated an honest lady from the valuables she had on her. Thanks to that I could buy a sword, now I can protect what little I have.

On a rainy day, my only friend fell on his dagger. Sometimes I can hear him laugh. Surely he's in heaven. That bastard.

Me I keep trying to survive at the bottom of these burnt walls. I took a little girl in. She reminded me of what hope looked like.

I'm a beggar nobody notices, I can't stand this life anymore. Westeros is a fucking dump, as my newfound companion says. To the undead charging us. To the undead.

The sun rises on my city. I'm cold, I guess winter is here. It's funny, the ground is all red. My broken sword lies near my head. Damn it all. Damn it all. Damn it all.

Damn it all."


	5. How it would have ended

Lyanna Mormont dies in service of her King, or rather would have if not for her adviser who forced her away from Winterfell as it started to be overrun. So she ends up in Torrhen's square. Winterfell has fallen. [ch title : Don't You Were a Child ? {bad grammar is on purpose ;)}]

Meanwhile, the Lannister army and the golden company, now led by Arya as Cersei, reach Moat Cailin where they will try to stop the dead's advance. They make a good stand, but end up being overrun after about 10 hours with the arrival of the ice spiders and have to abandon the castle and retreat. Only the mounted troops stand a chance as the ice spiders just roll over everybody else.

The iron fleet makes it to Torrhen's Square and picks up the survivors right in the nick of time as the siege had started and it was already looking bad. A few of the ships take the Saltspear upstream to the Fever river, ending up 35km away from Moat Cailin where they try to rescue the Lannister army. Which they manage to do with Bran's help thanks to his newfound power to slow down the dead and spiders.

The fleet then sails to Seagard where the army then walks to the Twins. They figure it's their last chance to stop the whole white walker army before it splits up and it becomes a nightmare to handle. Before they've lost basically.

[Sansa will take Sandor aside one day and apologize for not leaving King's Landing with him when he offered. She was scared. Partly of him. But the sight of him after all these years awoke something she thought Ramsay had broken. They end up having sex (though he didn't want to at first. Him : "Stop it. What's gotten into you girl ?" Her : "I am the lady of Winterfell now ser Clegane. I advise you not to forget it."). {impending death and all that for those who say it's out of character. And it's fanfiction. Embrace smut !}] [ch title : Tonight's the Knight's]]

The remaining human army baits the white walkers into trying to cross at the Twins in order to buy enough time for all the wildfire from King's Landing to be brought to them so they can end them. That is the job of a small part of the iron fleet which was left in King's Landing. It ferries the wildfire and gets ready to use load their catapults with it. Their targets will be the white walkers. Once these are gone all the living will have to do is mop up the remaining dead with no one left to create more of them.

Before the fighting starts however, there's a negotiation with the Night King. The fighting stops but all know that if they kill him, chaos will resume.

The rest of the white walkers stand not far from the negotiating table, as deterrents. That's what the humans were waiting for. The ships fire their catapults and rain wildfire behind them, isolating them from the main army (though they still have about a thousand dead with them in the circle of fire). There are weak spots in the circle as well so Bran has to freeze the dead. [ch title : Do Your Worth]

[Final showdown] : The tent where the negotiations were happening gets ripped to shreds as the Night King throws the table away with immense strength and arrows rain down. Jon doesn't miss a step and flies down with Rhaegal, covering the retreat of the negotiators. He immediately jumped down off the dragon to challenge the King while Rhaegal turned to roast the advancing dead who are close to just swarm them and effectively take the heads of the human army.

After a quick fight, the Night King is able to incapacitate Jon by twisting his arm and forcing his own sword through his leg.

The Night King now advances towards Bran (sees the future and can freeze a certain amount of undead in place, so annoying and clear target) who's in Sansa's arms after getting pushed back by the table. Arya places herself in front of them in a defending position before he can reach them though (she's not using a face). Then Brienne and Sandor do the same for her and position as a shield to Arya (which is a big deal since Brienne and Arya had a falling out when Arya admitted to killing Jaime), and are shortly thereafter joined by Tormund and Jorah. The fight starts, it's a 5 vs 1.

Arya runs to Bran and tells him to release his hold on the dead he was keeping at bay (and so endanger many people) and focus on slowing the Night King down. Nothing else. And she runs in to help the fight.

After a few minutes, it becomes a 2 vs 1 when only Arya and Brienne remain. Jorah is dead. Sandor is incapacitated but still had the strength to push the magic purple sword to Arya as she was about to be killed but is able to deflect the blow thanks to the sword. From then on, thanks to their sparring for months, Arya and Brienne become an incredible team, swapping weapons, …

Tormund, wounded, manages to get back up and rush the Night King. He tears off the armor piece protecting the King's right forearm but gets killed in the process. However, that makes Brienne able to cut the arm off.

The fight continues, and although not as one sided as it used to be, the Night King still seems to be about to come out on top. Arya has lost an eye during the skirmish and is out of the fight, leaving Brienne as humanity's last hope. But as she's forced to a kneeling position, Arya jumps on the back of the Night King and stabs him in the neck with her Valeryan dagger, cutting the thing [technically accurate term ^^] holding his breastplate in place in the process. She hangs on to her dagger and uses her other arm to expose his torso which is Brienne's opportunity which she seizes immediately and pierces him through and through with the magic purple sword. It does the job and the Night King is finally brought down.

But unfortunately it also goes through Arya's arm, the one which was holding the dagger in the Night King's back. It will have to be amputated.

Her arm situation stabilized (meaning she won't die from an infection), Arya goes to meet her white walker friend and they'll accept their fate in the end, that as long as there's a single white walker alive, humanity will never be at peace.

Them : "Don't you forget me Arya Stark."

Arya hugs them and after a few seconds stabs them. She only lets one tear out, which is the first in years, and walks away. [Chapter title : Youth Talking Blues] {sidenote : I'm so bummed I won't write this relationship because damn it would have been great, both heartwarming and heartbreaking}

In the end, Jon takes the last surviving dragon to King's Landing melts the Iron Throne.

Possible Jon lines : "How many people do you reckon died for that glorified stool ?"

"Soon there will be no more dragons."

"This throne has only brought misery. The kingdoms' shall rule themselves once again. As they always should have."

And he leaves with Rhaegal to cleanse Valyria then explore Sothoryos, leaving Sansa in charge of Winterfell. [ch title : Fils de Feu]

Here's a recap of the main characters' status at the end of this story :

Dead : Tormund, Edd, Gendry, Beric, Tyrion, Daeneris, Sandor, Davos, Varys, Podrick, Jorah, Samwell, Gilly, Theon, Cersei, Gregor, Jaime, Melisandre (yeah she was there but I had nothing for her)

Alive : Lyanna, Qyburn, Meera, Daario, Robin

-Jon departs for Sothoryos, seeking other dragons for he cannot let Rhaegal be the last of his kind and alone. But really it's an excuse for him to be alone, far from it all. He has PTSD.

-Sansa is Queen in the North and relieves Brienne from her oath.

-Brienne is knighted and offered to be master-at-arms of Winterfell (does she accept ? It's unknown)

-Bran is Sansa's advisor.

-Arianne Martell and Tyene Sand both rule as co-Queens of Dorne.

-Little Sam, orphaned, is left with either Edmure and Roslin or Missandei and Grey Worm. {you decide ! ^_^}

-Euron sails back to the Iron Islands.

-Arya sails to the west, trying to find land.

-Yara sails with her, getting away from this land she can't stomach anymore.


	6. HikiNEETaku's fanfics will be on hiatus

The story would have "continued" by following Arya and Yara as the set off to the west and came across other fantasy lands (Lords of the Rings, Berserk, and many others).

This one may still become a reality, but if it does it will not be for many years. So for now, try to enjoy the final episodes of GoT (even though they're not helping us), and thank you for reading !


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